What info will I capture when they text?

When using our Smart Postcards available information may include: Mobile Number, Date of Request, Time of Request, Campaign Associated Keyword, Name, Gender, Age, Social Data and more! Remember, they NEVER fill out a single form! We do this by data-mining networks of consumer databases in milliseconds.

How do I get started?

It’s simple! Just click on any design and specify the postcard size you want. Next, customize your order: quantity, direct mail, or shipped and click “Customize Design”. Now you can add your personal information and more (There’s a “Getting started video” there). Finally, checkout and access your dashboard.

What makes Realasponse different?

See Features We offer lead generation products for real estate professionals that return quality leads by merging the power of direct mail marketing and mobile. We wanted to improve real estate postcard marketing in what is now a mobile world; so we created Smart Postcards. We specialize in marketing desirable content offers to targeted prospects that return instant access to information through mobile. And almost like magic, you can capture lead information: name, phone number, gender, age, social data, etc. in real-time: WITHOUT them ever filling out a single form! No other postcard capture system offers that.

What kind of response should I expect?

The response you receive depends on a lot of factors. There just isn’t any magic number (Note: Beware of companies that give magic numbers). For one, the list you use is very important. For example, a postcard for first-time home buyers will have a weak response rate if directed to any and everyone vs renters alone. But we can help you out with a mailing list here. There are also factors like postcard quantity or frequency. Remember, postcard marketing is a numbers game too…quantity is a factor. These are all factors for a successful campaign and should be thought through. The best way to measure success is really by ROI. Read more below: “Response Rate vs Return on Investment.”

What if the home estimate is slightly off?

When your prospects text for their FREE home value we provide a close value range. By this time you’ve already captured their contact information with our system. When you follow up with your leads, should they express seeing their property value represented slightly too low or high, here’s your chance to begin setting up the appointment to better evaluate their home. Remember, there are no “perfect” online estimates…ANYWHERE…what’s important is you have the contact information of an interested prospect to provide the correct evaluation they need.

But aren’t home estimates already online?

The truth is many prospective sellers will text your FREE offer even if they’ve viewed online estimates in the past. They rarely turn down a personal offer for information on their home’s value. Just like most of us wouldn’t turn down information from a doctor offering FREE advice on our personal health even if we thought we knew our health status. In this case, more information is security. Remember, getting leads is easier if you bait your hook with something FREE, valuable, accessible, and effortless. We’ve already done the hard work for you!

How often should I mail?

For our postcards, case studies show that continuous campaigns are best. While many prospects will text for your report in the initial mailing, some prospects will reach out in the 2nd or 3rd mailing. This is due to the fact that an impression is being made via repetition. It’s pretty much the same principle and conventional wisdom Fortune 500 companies follow when marketing; which is that airing one commercial will attract some, however many commercials will attract more. Postcard marketing is no different. Also, how frequent you mail can depend on how competitive your market is. Are there few agents serving that area or are there many? Is your competition aggressively pursuing buyers and sellers? Answering these questions will help build your marketing action plan.

Why don’t you use QR Codes?

Study after study has shown that QR Codes simply haven’t caught on with the public. Think about? How many QR Codes have you scanned this month? Likely None. Now how many text messages have you sent this month? You probably can’t keep count! And that’s exactly the point. Texting is far more natural to the way people communicate today. Plus, texting works on standard cell phones and smartphones while QR Codes only work on smartphones. You NEVER want to limit your market. Also, a recent ComScore study concluded that only “1 in 5 Smartphone users scanned a QR Code”. So while much of the real estate industry was following market hype and pushing hard around QR Codes we wanted to follow the market research and go the proven route with text messaging as our medium.

Who should I mail to?

You want to be sure your list is targeted and not a random list. However, who you mail too depends greatly on your business goals. Are you going after renters? Homeowners? Or how about homeowners of a certain age, family size, or behavioral factor? Our system can create just about any custom mailing list. And with so many demographic variables to choose from, you’ll be able to market to ideal prospects with no problem. We’ll even store your purchased mailing lists for reuse at no cost. We can help you out with mailing lists here.

What is EDDM?

EDDM stands for Every Door Direct Mail and is a service provided by the U.S. Postal Service that allows you to mail to every residential address in a given area and pay low as $0.16 cents per postcard on postage without the need of a mailing list. It requires that you use USPS.com to select your mailing route and bring your mailing into your local post office. Realasponse will print and ship your postcards directly to you making sure the correct indicia are on your postcards. We also offer bundling services since USPS requires pieces be bundled in packs of 50 or 100.

Response Rate vs Return on Investment

While our Smart Postcards do perform better than a typical static postcard 2% response rate, it is important to understand that response rates are NOT the full metric for real success when marketing with postcards. You could spend $350 on a postcard marketing campaign and only gain two new clients out of 12 responses, but those clients brought in $12,000 in commissions. You’d be getting back over 30x what you invested! Even a small response can make the investment more than worth it.

Do you offer discounted pricing?

Our Smart Postcards are already competitively priced and include so much for FREE. We do periodically email discount promotions. If you’re on a budget we recommend our EDDM postcards which allow you to save on mailing listing cost and postage (Read more about EDDM above). Lastly, one way to shave off half your cost is to partner with a lender and co-brand your campaign. See our design video on the “Customize Design” page to learn how to include additional photo and contact information.

How does the texting thing work?

It’s all rather straightforward. You select the design you want to customize and order. After ordering, our system generates a unique texting keyword and assigns that keyword to that particular postcard campaign. For example, you might have a keyword like “HOME 411″ which prospects will text to 313131 to receive your offered information. Our system then automatically prints your keyword on every postcard. After you order, you’ll be directed to your “Lead Manager” where you’ll find your assigned keyword,can test it out, edit your report, and view all incoming leads. You can even forward text alerts to your phone once a lead comes in. Each keyword is live for 110 days ( more than enough time for the average response time for your campaign) then expires.

Do I need to place a disclaimer?

Not at all, we’ve done all the work for you and placed both a standard texting disclaimer and a real estate marketing disclaimer required on all marketing material in very small text on the back. (i.e. Message & data rates may apply…)

Can any phone text and get my offer?

98% of all mobile phones can send and receive text messages. We support all major players in the market: Alltel, AT&T, Boost Mobile, Cellular One, Cellular South, Cincinnati Bell, Cricket, MetroPCS, Nextel, Sprint, T-Mobile, US Cellular, Verizon Wireless, and Virgin. If the user does not have “short codes” blocked from their mobile carrier (which is rare) they can receive your offer via mobile phone.

Is there a how-to “design” video?

Yes! To see videos, visit any product page and click on the green “Customize Design” button. This will bring you into the postcard design editor where you can then click the red “Getting Started Video” button at the top of the design editor.

Can I upload my own designs?

What’s the turnaround time for orders?

Our motto is pretty simple, “Get’em in, get’em out!” After you’ve approved and ordered your real estate postcards they will be sent to proofing and printing right away. All printing is finished within 2-3 business days and shipped out within 24 hours after printing. Mailing orders are sent to USPS within 48-72 hours after printing. But no worries, our system will send you an email once your postcards are out the door. Be sure you’ve placed your order by 9am PST to start production time for that day.

Can you guarantee my mailing?

Realasponse takes full responsibility in making sure that your postcard mailings and shipped orders are prepared and correctly handled on our side, and, upon request, will even provide official documentation as proof that your job was delivered to USPS or UPS. Our customer satisfaction record is positive at 99.4% However, we have no control over USPS or UPS. So, it is impossible for us (or any business) to know if a mail carrier has fulfilled their duty by making sure they delivered every single piece of mail to every home.

How is the print quality?

We print on solid premium quality 16pt card stock that’s durable enough to withstand postal handling and still looks good when it reaches your prospects. We also use vivid color inks on all your postcards and later top them off with UV coating at no extra cost.

Can postcards be addressed & shipped?

Sorry, at this time our addressing and mailing services are only for direct mail orders. In the future we will allow for this service to be an option.